Lebanon Crisis: From Relief to Recovery

Young girls plant flowers in a new Mercy Corps-constructed park in Baalbek, Lebanon, that's equipped with a playground, a botanical garden and a water fountain. The Municipality of Iaat donated the land, while community members chipped in $1,000 for benches. Photo: Courtesy of Ahmad Shalha/Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training

Months after last summer's 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the need to support Lebanese families affected by the fighting persists. The conflict killed 1,191 Lebanese, injured another 4,409 and displaced nearly 1 million people, according to the Higher Relief Council. An estimated 30,000 homes were destroyed.

Since last August, Mercy Corps' relief-to-recovery program has reached more than 450,000 people in nearly 200 villages by providing food, blankets and other essential humanitarian items; improving access to drinking water and sanitation; rebuilding schools, parks and playgrounds; providing vouchers to farmers; and programming activities for youth. These efforts make up the bulk of Mercy Corps' U.S.-funded, $13.2-million Emergency Response and Recovery in Lebanon program, which is expected to reach 700,000 people by July 2007.

Public schools sharply curtailed spending in the wake of a shortage of government funds following the war, making them unable to keep up with even basic maintenance and keeping classrooms warm over the winter. Mercy Corps has rehabilitated 44 schools in the cazas of Nabatiye and Baalbek, and distributed more than 40,000 gallons of fuel to schools and universities.

Farmers in the south incurred sizeable wartime losses. Many could not harvest or irrigate their crops at a critical juncture in the production cycle, and could not feed their sheep, goats and cows for more than a month. Thousands of dollars worth of vegetable crops were lost, unfed animals died and malnourished cows produced little or no milk. Mercy Corps distributed $400 vouchers to the most vulnerable farmers to buy seeds and equipment.

Children are often the most vulnerable to the stress and trauma of war and displacement, and its reverberations on their families and communities. As we have done in the aftermath of wars, tsunamis, hurricanes and other crises, Mercy Corps is responding to children's psychosocial needs in Lebanon. We're working with local partners to build parks, playgrounds and sports fields, and to sponsor drama performances, public-service days and community celebrations. We supported English classes, drawing contests and certified computer training, and have brought together youth from different communities and religious confessions to discuss the impact of last summer's conflict and the subsequent political uncertainties on their lives.

During the fighting, the agency provided essential humanitarian relief to more than 50,000 Lebanese, most of them holed up in overcrowded homes, schools and municipal buildings in the hills southeast of Beirut. Aid teams in the Chouf mountain area reached families in 26 villages, and we distributed 1,000 "infant kits" - with diapers, ointment, and similar items - to a Palestinian refugee camp south of Beirut, in conjunction with our partner ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) and the women's union in the camp.

Mercy Corps also sent convoys to villages in the cazas of Hasbaye, Jezzine, Marjayoun, Nabatiye, and Saida, reaching nearly 64,000 beneficiaries in southern Lebanon with food, hygiene kits and educational material, and blankets.

The agency has worked in Lebanon for more than a decade, investing in programs to improve agricultural practices, expand access to information technology, bolster tourism and manage natural resources.